Food for Thought

My friend and triathlon teammate Isela Rosales had the worst luck a few weeks ago when, after cycling around Central Park, she was a few blocks from her apartment downtown in Manhattan and a delivery man wielding a handcart pushed it into the bike lane without looking, and she collided with it.

She went flying head-first over her handlebars and smashed her head on the pavement, impacting her head and breaking her jaw. The helmet saved her life?which is one reason at SELF we insist on NEVER taking a photo of anyone biking without a brain bucket on (occasionally, stars are shown on a cruiser on the beach with no helmet, but these are “pick-up” shots, and not those designed and art directed by SELF). Our team knows better and I literally won’t select film that shows a girl moving on a bike without a helmet. If she is standing still and the helmet is on her bars or in her hand, fine. But moving? Helmet required. (This, despite what the hair and style folks say about how goofy they look.)

The inspiring Isela and me.

Back to Isela: She was ultimately fine, thank God, but unfortunately her jaw needed to be surgically fixed. She has braces and her beautiful smile is intact, but she can’t eat, and for someone as slim, lithe and athletically built as she is, and who didn’t need to lose a pound, this has been a very taxing and trying time. Her food all has to be liquid, and at first that might sound fun: Pinkberry and Jamba Juice and Shake Shack chocolate shakes? Sign me up. But for Isela, who wants to be healthy and not lose weight, she needs protein and antioxidants and enough calories to sustain her healing and her strength. She gets so hungry for “real” food that she has blended burgers and tacos and anything that she can think of. Her friends bring her things to try to blend and it’s been a food experiment of the highest order. I’ll turn it over to her, below. But let this be a reminder to us all: Food is fuel. Without it we wither and our bones don’t grow healthy and our muscles can’t stay strong. Too much isn’t good either, of course, and some of us might be tempted to think that having our jaw wired shut for weeks could help us keep the bad stuff out. But for me, this is a welcome reminder to think of food as our friend: It literally sustains us. And it’s enjoyable and should be a pleasure. (Not the enemy…we at SELF say, don’t go to war with food or your body. Take joy in both and it will all work out!)

And one other thing: Wear a helmet, please. And I won’t go into the fact that the bike lanes should afford safe passage to the bikers of the world. But drivers, bikers and everyone, let’s all please watch out for each other. We can all share the roads safely! It’s summer…stay safe and enjoy the biking, but please do come back in one piece!